Flatus Ventus
by Temari-Desert-Storm
Summary: Aqua and Terra are introduced to Ventus, struggling with his own development. At the same time, the two must put aside with differences and face their greatest foe: fear itself. PreBBSPart3/Final
1. Ventus

**Chapter 1 - Ventus**

* * *

Land of Departure, Three years before _Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep_

* * *

"Terra. Terra, wake up. Now."

Terra groaned and rolled on to his side, mentally berating himself for his laziness. He didn't want to get up. It was _too early_. He shouldn't have needed to get up for another hour, but Aqua persisted, shaking his shoulder.

"Come on, Terra. Get up, or Master Eraqus will have us landscape the entire world for the next month. _After_ we finish training."

'Motivation enough,' he mused, opening his eyes and forcing himself to sit up. "I'm up, I'm up. Now get out so I can get dressed."

Without arguing, Aqua left, and he hefted himself out of bed, his limbs sore. Consistent daily training did that, but it was easier to warm up once you were in the habit. He dressed quickly, slowing down only when he got his elbow caught in the sleeve of his shirt. Strapping on his armor, he headed off, jogging lightly to wake himself up. In less than ten minutes, both apprentices were standing outside, waiting.

The Land of Departure was the training ground and home of Master Eraqus, where he trained his apprentices. During the day, it was a beautiful thing to see; the white castle standing prominently amongst the lakes and trees, the two golden chains connecting it to the mountaintops. Early in the morning, before the sun rose, it was something else entirely. The light of the approaching sun stretched across the sky, the eastern horizon glowing yellow, branching out into green and then in to shades of blue that darkened as they reached over their heads and behind the castle.

To Terra, the Land of Departure was more than just home. It was a sanctuary from the horrors of the life he had left behind. His first few years as an apprentice had been spent updating the maps Eraqus kept, so he had explored and memorized the layout of most of the world. Aqua had spent a lot of time there too; mostly out on training missions.

After about ten minutes, when Terra was on the verge of falling asleep on his feet, the door behind them opened, and they turned in attention. Eraqus emerged, looking critically at them. The master was getting on in his years, his appearance a bit feeble and weak, but that was no excuse to underestimate him. 'Master Eraqus could probably take on an army and still come out smelling like roses. He wouldn't even break a sweat.' He lingered at the door, his back to them, before he vanished inside again. When he reemerged, he was pulling a boy behind him.

The odd pair stopped in front of the apprentices, who remained still, carefully observing the boy. Something about him tugged at the back of Terra's mind, but he ignored it. He was young; probably no older then he had been when he had first met Aqua. His clothes were half black and half white, his armor a yellowish and silver chunk of metal on his shoulder. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and looking at him, a shiver ran up the oldest apprentice's spine. The boy's eyes were dark and lifeless, giving off the impression that he was dead.

Eraqus cleared his throat, and his students returned their attention to him. He gestured to the boy. "This is Ventus. From this day forward, he's an apprentice, just as you are. Today, your training will be to look after him."

Terra titled his head a bit, questioningly. "What about you, Master?"

"I've handled this one enough," the Master smiled wryly, but his eyes betrayed his confidence. They read frustration, a look that Terra recognized from his younger days. His patience had been exhausted, so he was dumping the problem onto his more youthful apprentices. "I'll leave you to it."

He watched his master leave, not breaking eye contact with his back until the door blocked it from sight. With a sigh, he glanced sheepishly over at Aqua, and then turned to Ventus. The boy was staring blankly at them, his mouth open slightly, not even blinking once. Terra fought off the urge to poke him, wondering if he would topple over if he did. He looked unsteady on his feet, but not to the point where he was wobbling.

Aqua took the initiative and spoke up. "It's nice to meet you, Ventus."

There was no reply. He just continued to stare at them, blank and empty.

"Are we sure he's alive?" Terra asked, and got elbowed for it.

"Of course he is! Don't say such stupid things!"

Looking at the boy again, he wasn't so sure. His eyes radiated emptiness, and Terra cringed. "He looks pretty dead to me," he mumbled absently, staring off in the distance. The sun was closer to rising, turning the sky farthest from its position a light purple.

Aqua was appraising the kid, leaning forward to get a better look at him. She waved her hand in front of his face, and his head turned slightly, but it wasn't much of a reaction. "I'm not sure what do to," she admitted.

"Let me try." Closing the distance between them, he snapped his fingers in front of Ventus. Slowly, the boy blinked, but only once. "Well, now we know he's breathing."

She elbowed him again. "Be polite. He can still hear us."

"I'm beginning to wonder about that…"

Ventus blinked again, this time without any stimulus, and they turned back to him, startled. He blinked again, accompanied by a questioning sound. 'He looks likes someone who just woke up from a long nap and he doesn't remember how he ended up there.' He noticed that the boy's eyes were lighter, like someone had lit a match in a dark room but had yet to turn on the lights. 'He's alive, alright, but not entirely there.'

Aqua tried again. "Hello, Ventus. Can you hear me?"

Terra rolled his eyes. "He's not deaf, Aqua."

"It's worth a shot."

Ventus turned his head slowly in her direction, blinking lazily. She smiled, but he didn't react further.

She sighed. "I give up. I see why Master Eraqus dumped him on us."

"You know, we're going to have to treat him like a two year old. I don't think he knows anything."

Aqua looked at him, confused. "You think? I mean… he does look… out there… but it's not like he's been living in a bubble for all his life, right?"

"He'll need us to teach him. That's all I'm saying."

"Don't tell me. It's your 'I know these kinds of things' ability. Are you sure you're sure?"

Terra sighed. He'd mentioned it to her before, but he'd never actually told her. He had clairvoyance, the ability to look into the future, a power he couldn't control. It sent images to his mind of things that were going to happen and it always seemed to be right. 'I'll be the first to admit, it sounds like a crazy ability, but it works, whether I like it or not. And most of the time, I don't like it. This time, though, I know. Ventus needs us to teach him.' "I'm sure I'm sure, alright?"

"Well, we should probably show him around, then."

"_If_ he can walk."

She glared. "Of course he can walk. How do you think he got here?"

"With the way Master Eraqus was dragging him," Terra replied with a shrug, "I'm not sure…"

Aqua turned back to Ventus. "Come on. We'll show you the castle. It's a lot bigger than it looks. Okay?"

The boy just blinked, another questioning sound issuing from his half open mouth. Rolling her eyes, Aqua grabbed his wrist lightly and started dragging him along, Terra walking beside her.

"I never knew babysitting was in the job description when I signed up," he mused with a smirk.

"Then you shouldn't have sighed up," Aqua replied shortly, "You were younger then this when you became a-ACK!"

The female Keyblade wielder was instantly yanked backwards, vanishing from his line of sight with a shriek. Glancing back he saw that Ventus had passed out, dropping to the ground, his weight catching the unprepared apprentice off guard. He laughed as she sat up and brushed her windswept hair off her face.

"Very funny," she growled, and that only made him laugh more. "Help me with him. He's heavier than he looks."

Shaking his head with a bemused smile, he picked the kid up in his arms, shifting the added weight until he had a steady hold. Nodding that he was ready, they went into the castle, Aqua leading the way to open doors. It took a little searching to find the new apprentice's room, but when they did, Terra was tempted to drop him unceremoniously on the bed. 'He _is_ heavier than he looks. If I had to carry him any longer, my arms would probably fall off.' They closed the door when they left, walking down the hall a bit before they started talking.

"I feel bad for him," Aqua muttered.

Terra was rolling his shoulders. "I feel bad for my arms."

She elbowed him in the ribs. "Can you take conversation seriously for once?"

"With you?" He pretended to think about it. "Never."

They descended into laughter, with Aqua threatening to push him down the stairs if he didn't smarten up. Their conversation echoed off the open spaces and empty walls of the castle interior. It was a big place for only the three - now four - of them, but it was home.

Clearing his throat, Terra's face scrunched up in an attempt to be serious. "Why do you feel bad for him, anyway?"

"Something must have happened to make him like that. No one can be born like that, or grow up that way, so something horrible must have happened to him."

An awkward silence passed between them, both silently acknowledging the concept.

"Whatever it is," he grumbled, "it's not our business to know."

"But what if we can-!"

"We can't do anything to change it. What's past is past. All we can do now is help him get over it."

Aqua didn't look satisfied with that answer, resting her hand against her chest. Terra resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Aqua only did that when she was anxious about something and he realized how much it was bothering her, but it seemed to him like she was blowing the situation out of proportion.

"Listen," he grumbled, talking slowly to sort out his words, "it seems to me like his memory might have been affected by… whatever it was, so he may not remember. If he does, we'll ask him about it, or we could see if Master Eraqus knows anything."

Aqua glanced over at him, her eyes unreadable, and she smiled. "Maybe. Thanks, Terra."

"For what?"

"Never mind," she laughed, and hopped down the stairs ahead of him. "Let's go."

* * *

Ventus was asleep for the rest of the day, and the two other apprentices used their time wisely. They spent the rest of the morning and all of the afternoon training, each of them taking turns to check on their sleeping comrade. As Master Eraqus had locked himself up in his rooms, neither of them saw much of him, so the time spent in the castle was as much of a break as they would get.

Terra, flexing and massaging his sore muscles, used the time to think. He had a lot on his mind, and most of it involved Ventus. 'He seems like a good enough kid. A little blank, maybe, but the can be dealt with. Problem is, I've seen this before. I've seen _him_ like this before, and somehow I know he'll be fine. It's that clairvoyance acting up again.' He rubbed his temples, walking with his eyes closed until he hit his unarmored shoulder on a corner. He cursed under his breath for a minute before he sighed heavily and leaned up against the wall.

"You've been pushing yourself a little too hard, Terra," Aqua said firmly, expressing her concern as she caught up to him, "You need to get some rest."

"But-"

"It's late, anyway, so no complaints. I'm going to sleep, and you'd be smart to do the same." Without waiting for a reply, she walked off, covering her mouth with her hands as she gave a silent yawn.

Rolling his eyes after her, he went back to his room, still in the same state of mess it had been in when he'd left it in the morning. Peeling off his armor, he stacked it neatly on the table next to his bed and dropped himself on the mattress, kicking his armored boots lazily to the floor. He usually did that: sleeping in his clothes until he got enough energy to change out of them. He closed his eyes and was beginning to drift off when it came.

Sitting up with a jerk, Terra gasped for air, startled, and then placed his hand against his face, trying to clear his head. It wasn't the suddenness of what he saw that startled him, and it wasn't a violent image that he'd seen, though his clairvoyance often showed him such things. It was the emotions associated with it that surprised him, smothering him like a thick blanket.

He'd seen himself, with Aqua and Ventus, and the three of them were smiling, laughing at some joke the future him wasn't telling the present him. What had startled him was the overpowering and pure happiness, and he could feel in his heart that he was the happy one, finally having found something to make his life complete.


	2. Disagreement

**Chapter 2 - Disagreement**

* * *

Land of Departure, Three years before _Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep_

* * *

For the next few weeks, Aqua and Terra devoted themselves to teaching Ventus. It seemed as though he knew nothing at all. He didn't seem to eat unless someone showed him how, even if he'd tried the food before. He stared blankly at things most of the time, his mouth hanging slightly ajar until Terra commented that flies would get in. Ventus seemed to acknowledge that it was a bad thing, and his slack jawed expression vanished from that point on. The more time they spent with his, the more of a light seemed to shine in his eyes, like someone stoking a fire until the flames reached almost to the sky. Unfortunately, his progress wasn't that fast; the fire behind his eyes wasn't even enough to cure his one major problem.

Ventus never spoke a word.

It was evident that he understood language. He nodded or shook his head when asked a question, but he never answered a question that required him to speak. It was something that Aqua worried about, but Terra reassured her that Ventus would speak when he was ready, and all they had to do was encourage him.

"I know that, but maybe we're pushing it. Maybe he can't talk?"

Terra sighed. "Aqua, I think, if he couldn't talk, we'd know by now."

After that, she refrained from talking to him about it. Terra seemed more and more tense every morning when she saw him, but by the end of the day he was relaxed and cheerful again. His shifting behavior was becoming more of a concern to her as time passed.

Another strange thing she noticed about Ventus, something she was sure Terra had noticed as well, was that Ventus never summoned his Keyblade. They actively tried to involve him in practice, but each time they asked, he shook his head. Instead, he sat on the sidelines and watched them, taking everything in.

One morning, a month after his arrival, he was doing just that, watching the two older apprentices as they warmed up for their training. Aqua kept looking over at him, worried, but she turned her attention back when she heard the sounds of Terra's armor materializing into place. The golden and copper armor made him taller, even though he was still head and shoulders above her without it. Once it had finished, he yanked the helmet off. Aqua suppressed a laugh, as it made his bulky frame even bulkier in comparison to his normal sized head.

Normally, fighting without a helmet would be stupid, but Aqua understood his reasons. First of all, Terra was facing off against her, who was much faster and more agile. His helmet restricted his sight, and thus, his movement. Second, it contributed to raising his overall temperature. With all the muscle Terra had built up, he consumed a lot more energy and produced a lot more sweat. His temperature would rise a lot more than hers would, and the helmet would cap all of it in. As well, this was training, and they trusted each other not to try any headshots.

Aqua followed suit, and they gave their helmets to Ventus to hold on to. She would have kept her armor on, but past experience had taught her that Terra's heavy blows made her armor vibrate, and the last thing she needed was a distraction like that.

Standing a few feet apart, they stared each other down, waiting for the other to move. As she'd expected, Terra's impatience got the better of him, and he charged. From the way his arms were positioned, she could almost picture the muscles bunched up underneath. She dodged, not wanting to be on the receiving end of his attacks, and tried to keep a fair amount of distance between them. They knew each others strengths and weaknesses too well: Aqua was a long-range fighter, talented with magic and avoiding attacks. Terra knew this and tried to keep her close, where she wouldn't be free to move. At the same time, Terra's weakness was his lack of long-range capabilities, so the only way to keep his strength at bay was to keep out of his attack range.

It became a struggle for ground: Aqua quickly loosing it as Terra gained on her. She weaved around his attacks, knowing she had enough time as Terra's heavy Keyblade slowed him down. Despite that, the battle was one of speed. It was a contest between how fast Aqua could dodge compared to how long Terra took to recover.

Finally, as the repetitiveness of their actions was beginning to wear on them, they both changed their approaches. Terra pulled back and jerked forward in a straight stabbing motion, and Aqua summoned up Reflect magic to shield herself. The result of magic and metal clashing sent Terra's Keyblade rebounding back, nailing him in the stomach with a resounding clang. He grunted, his own force sending him stumbling back, and then renewed his attack with more speed and ferocity. From there, Aqua switched to offensive, firing off magic spells as she hopped backwards. Terra rushed towards her, every slash of his Keyblade whipping effortlessly through her attacks, his teeth ground together in concentration. It wasn't until he let out a growl of effort the she noticed that he and his Keyblade were glowing with a white light. 'Fatal Mode… One hit, and I'm dead.'

Grimly, she switched to her own special style, a magic-oriented skill that drew on her innermost power. It contrasted with Terra's, which made his powerful, slow hits into devastating, bone-shattering, faster hits, as hers made her magic more fluid, more powerful, and gave her an extra advantage over Terra's physical style. Their Keyblades met, and Aqua jumped back, letting her Keyblade push off of Terra's as it twirled back towards her hand. She met each of his attacks with her own, feeling none of the force that was paying a toll on Terra's arms. She smiled confidently. Having a magically controlled Keyblade was her most useful advantage.

Unexpectedly, it made Terra mad, madder than she'd ever seen him before. He began meeting her blows with as much power as he could muster, sending painful vibrations through the air until Aqua felt her control on her Keyblade slipping. She summoned it back to her hands and Terra charged like a raging rhinoceros, meeting her as she blocked. She gave him a look of confusion, but he didn't seem to notice, as he jumped back and tried another strike.

The power Aqua felt through her Keyblade was like nothing she'd even felt before. Terra's anger had seemingly consumed him, fueling him like nothing else. The problem was, she couldn't understand why. Why was he so angry? Why was his anger making him so strong?

Her thoughts distracted her, and by the time she noticed it, Terra had already taken the opening to attack. His attack was a downward swing, encompassing all of his strength. It was aimed straight for her head. She didn't have time to dodge; it would take off her arm if she tried. She couldn't block; her Keyblade was in her hands, but it was at her side. She did the only thing she could: she cast up Reflect to send it flying back.

Suddenly, something changed. Terra's raged expression vanished, replaced with one of horror and shock. Was it because he realized his anger was for nothing? His death grip on his Keyblade loosened and, when it collided with the crystalline barrier, it bounced right off, upwards and out of his hands. The older apprentice landed flat on his back. His Keyblade was sent flipping through the air, imbedding itself in the ground with a heavy thud barely two inches from Ventus' feet.

Ventus blinked lazily, tilting his head slightly as he stared at the Keyblade. Shrugging himself to his feet, Terra walked over and yanked his Keyblade out of the ground. "You okay, Ventus?"

Aqua had expected him to just nod and ignore it, but when Ventus stood up, he spoke. "Should I not be?"

Terra, who had hefted his Keyblade of his shoulder, looked down at the younger apprentice. "Uh… no. That's not… Uh… never mind."

"Okay," was Ventus' simple reply, and he held out Terra's helmet for him. Stunned, Terra dismissed his Keyblade and took the helmet from him, retracting his armor back against his arm.

Aqua suddenly felt annoyed. They were acting like nothing had happened. Angrily, she stormed over and absently took her helmet from Ventus, barely registering that he had been holding it. Instead, she turned her fury on Terra. "What were you thinking!"

"Huh?"

"You could have hit Ventus!"

"But I didn't."

"That's not the point!"

"Then the point should be that it happened because you blocked."

"You would have killed me!"

"I wasn't trying to," he replied indignantly.

"Trying to or not, you almost did!"

"You're making a big deal about it. Nothing happened, and Ventus is fine with it. Right?"

Ventus tilted his head in confusion. "I'm not sure why you're arguing."

"We're not arguing."

Aqua glared at him. "We ARE arguing, because you're not listening to reason."

"What reason? We're arguing about something we don't need to be arguing about!"

"We're arguing about your stupidity!"

"Then maybe I should bring up how utterly defensive you are!"

"Defensive! At least I pay attention to things like that! You're oblivious!"

"You're overly sensitive!"

"You're _in_sensitive!"

"You're a know-it-all!"

"You're a hardhead!"

"Goody-two-shoes!"

"Obnoxious jerk!"

"Show-off!"

"Overconfident jock!"

"Drama queen!"

"MURDERER!"

Realizing what she said, she gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth, the sickening smell of her scraped armor invading her nostrils. Terra's fury disappeared as his eyes widened in horror. Aqua watched as pained recognition dawned on his face, and then transformed back into burning hatred. Glaring at her, he turned and stormed away.

"T-Terra! Wait! Just… Stop!" she called after him, but he continued on like he didn't hear her. Pain rising up in her chest, she watched him leave.

"Is that… something bad?" Ventus asked innocently.

Aqua put her helmet on and dismissed her armor. "Yes. I said something that hurt Terra. Something I shouldn't have said…"

Having known Terra for so long, having shared most of her life with him, Aqua knew Terra better than anyone else. She knew all of his strengths and weaknesses, his dreams and his fears, but she knew that what hurt him the most was remembering the things he had done, the things he wasn't proud of. No matter how much he covered it up, Aqua knew that Terra was ashamed of himself, and it pained her to think about it. It hurt because she was afraid of him doing something stupid. She was afraid of him making a decision he would regret. She was afraid of losing him to something neither of them could control.

"Terra wasn't hurt."

"Huh?"

"You didn't hit him."

Aqua smiled sadly. "Maybe not physically, but words can hurt just as much."

"It hurt you too?"

"…Yes. It hurts for me too. I didn't want to hurt him… He's my friend."

"Friend?" Ventus asked, and Aqua looked over at him in stunned amazement. She realized that not once had she or Terra ever mentioned that they were friends, or that Ventus knew what friends were. His confusion made it evident that he didn't remember it.

"Friends are special people that we hold close in our hearts. They're not our family, but they support us in whatever ways they can. Friends understand you, but sometimes differences make people angry."

"Then… apologize?"

Aqua felt the pain in her chest ebb. 'He's right. I have to apologize to Terra. I didn't mean to say what I did, and I'm sorry for it. Ventus is right! I need to find Terra! I need to apologize!'

"Ventus, will you come with me? I need to find Terra."

"Apologize?"

She nodded and smiled. "Yes, I need to apologize. For the pain I caused him for bringing up such painful memories, I need to tell him how sorry I am."


	3. Unease

**Chapter 3 - Unease**

* * *

Land of Departure, Three years before _Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep_

* * *

Terra stormed down the halls of the castle, but every step he took deflated his anger. He knew Aqua was right to be mad at him. Something bad could have happened to Ventus if he hadn't been so lucky. 'But still… to bring up that?' Terra cringed, reeling in the waves of agony that pulled on his chest and restricted his breathing. 'She's right. I've hurt people. I've killed people. They may have been Heartless, most of them, but still… I'm violent. I'm much too violent.' Even worse, his clairvoyance was acting up, and it was an additionally headache that he didn't need.

"Terra."

Stopping dead in his tracks, he met the eyes of his master, who was coming down the adjoining hallway towards him. The tightness in his chest intensified, and he tried to hide the signs that he was having trouble breathing. His head was swimming.

He bowed respectfully. "Do you need something from me, Master?"

Eraqus' face was serious. "Yes. Come with me to my office. I have an assignment for you."

Some of the tension in his chest dissipated. 'A mission… Good. Just what I need to get my mind off things.'

Master Eraqus' office was located in one of the castle's massive towers. His quarters were also in that section of the castle, but on a higher level. The inside of the office betrayed his master's quiet, simple appearance: it was filled with books, papers, and other folders filled with indiscernible documents. His desk was wooden, simple in design but made of a brilliant wood that Terra had never heard of and was sure didn't come from any tree in their world. There were two chairs, one behind the desk and the other between it and the door.

When they entered, Master Eraqus sat down and motioned for him to close the door and do the same. They exchanged long glances with each other. Terra knew that he was reading his eyes, something the his master had deemed necessary. In his childhood, Terra had been more silent than his master, and so reading his apprentice's eyes was the only way he could understand him. Terra didn't flinch under his gaze; instead, he looked right back, calm and collected. In reality, his chest was tightening even more.

Eraqus leaned back in his chair. "Tell me what's bothering you." Terra opened his mouth to make an excuse, but Eraqus held up his hand. "It's plain on your face. You have many worries, and keeping them to yourself is causing you harm. So, tell me what happened."

With anyone else, even Aqua, Terra would have persisted in lying, but Master Eraqus was different. He's been Terra's teacher for most of his life, and was more like a father to him than anyone else had been. Looking at his master, Terra saw the lines on his face, becoming more pronounced with his age, were protesting against an expression of concern, trying to right his face into a neutral position.

"A lot of things, actually," Terra replied, letting up what little air he could muster into a sigh. Casual talk would usually be frowned upon, but Terra felt it was time for it, and Eraqus never commented on it.

"Concerning?"

"Aqua, I guess…"

"Has something happened?"

Terra bit the inside of his lip. "Something like that. I… did something stupid and didn't take responsibility for it. We got into an argument and… She said some things she probably didn't mean."

"I take it you said some things you didn't mean as well?"

"Yes…"

"What happened?"

"We were training and… my hand slipped. I lost my grip on my Keyblade and it went flying and almost hit Ventus. He's fine, but it was close…"

Eraqus sighed, folding his hands on his desk. "And what made you lose your grip? You and I both know that you're not one to slip up."

Terra's panicked instincts kicked in. "I was calculating my next attack based on what I thought Aqua would do. I thought she would dodge, but she blocked. I was shifting my Keyblade for a follow-through attack, and that's when I hit her shield," he lied, "I should have been paying more attention."

"Is something bothering you, Terra?"

He was startled by the sudden change in tone in the question. The 'teacher-to-student' vibe was gone, and the question was layered thickly with concern. "Huh?"

"I may be getting older, but I'm not blind. I've seen the way you've been acting over the past few years and I've noticed some things. Very often, it's been miniscule things that you've changed, but you always look like you're trying to prevent something bad from happening."

"Do I?" Terra internally cringed. 'I shouldn't be surprised that he noticed it, but I can't tell him about my clairvoyance yet. He's probably got enough to worry about without me bothering him with what I'm not completely sure of.'

"You do, and it's very apparent, though Aqua may not have noticed. You've been doing it for some time, and it's making me concerned. If something is bothering you, you'll be sure to tell me, correct?"

"Of course."

Eraqus stared at him for a long moment, and Terra knew what he saw. He knew his eyes were betraying the fact that he was lying, but his master said nothing of it. Instead, he stood up and paced to the window, which gave a spectacular view of the landscape. "I have received some information pertaining to a strange phenomenon in one of the worlds."

Sensing that they were getting down to business, Terra got up and stood at attention, hands at his side. "Phenomenon, Master?"

"I don't have all the details, but residents have spotted something strange. They can't pinpoint exactly what it is because no one has the desire to get anywhere near it. The ruler of that world is a friend of mine, so I agreed to send someone to investigate. I believe that you're best suited for this."

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this mission?"

Eraqus turned to smile at him, a cross between amusement and sympathy. "You're not."

"Let me guess: there's water." Terra, above all things, hated water, especially anything larger than a puddle. Oceans and seas were big offenders, and the painful irony was that a lot of his major missions took place on worlds with them.

"Oh, lots of water…"

* * *

Atlantica, Three years before _Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep_

* * *

Terra, seated sideways on the seat of his Keyblade Rider, glared down at the ocean below him. "Just great. An _underwater world_. Just what I need." The water was clear enough that he could see a few feet down, but there wasn't anything in view but a group of small fish. 'Well, Master Eraqus did say that everything would be fine. I have to go along with it… but I never said I'd like it.' Mentally berating himself for complaining uselessly, Terra took as much of a deep breath as he could in his armor and punched his shoulder pad. The armor collapsed back against his arm and his Rider, which responded and could only be used with the armor, morphed back into _Earth Shaker_ and dropped him straight into the water. Though breathing would have normally been a top priority, Terra made sure to dismiss him Keyblade before his head went under the waves.

Having had experiences with drowning, Terra panicked and shut his eyes when water flooded into his mouth but, much to his surprise, it entered his lungs as air. When he opened his eyes, he gasped, water entering his system like it was air. It didn`t make much of a difference.

The underwater world of Atlantica was stunning. Sunlight filtered in through the waves, refracting the light into unevenly spaced beams that sparkled with the shifting water. Below him, seaweed hung to rocks, swaying gently in the currents. All around grew clumps of coral in all different colors. It was like a garden, but more spectacular than anything he'd ever seen.

Looking around at the coral around him, he finally noticed what was letting him breathe underwater. His clothes, including his collapsed armor, had vanished, and his legs had fused together and morphed into the back half of what looked like a shark. It was sleek, a dark navy blue, with a scarred and torn dorsal fin at the base of his back. Experimentally, he tried to move and his tailfin responded, tipping him upside down. 'Note to self: first; learn how to swim. Second; get this mission done and get out of here!'

It only took a few minutes to him to adapt, getting used to the new method of movement with ease. Once he had, he summoned his Keyblade and took a few experimental swings. The water slowed down his movements a bit, but once his Keyblade gained some momentum, it proved to have as little resistance as air.

Eraqus' instructions had been clear: find the ruler of the world and confirm with him the last known area of the anomaly. Then, hunt it down. It was a simple enough task that didn't require any thinking on his part. He was grateful for this: fighting required his to use less brainpower than it took to berate himself for his stupidity.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Terra set off, gliding along as he pushed himself almost effortlessly through the water. He easily found what he was looking for: an underwater castle that seemed to grow out of the seafloor, its structure consisting of white pillars that seemed to glow golden in the little sunlight that reached them. His clairvoyance had provided him with the image on the way there, as well as the location in regards to where he had arrived. 'I'm starting to think I'm not clairvoyant, but that someone enjoys toying with my head…' Closer to the castle, he saw some of the native merfolk, men and women whose lower bodies resembled fish in contrast to his. They gave him pointed glances, but for the most part ignored him.

The throne room was circular with pillars surrounding it on all sides, only breaking off in two places to form hallways in and out. In the center of the room was a throne that seemed to grow out of the floor, and seated on it was, Terra assumed, King Triton. 'He certainly has presence, that's for sure.' With his thick, muscular build and long white beard, he radiated a mixture of power and experience, the qualities of a good leader that Terra usually associated with his master. Triton was speaking to another of the merfolk, so he hung back until they finished.

When Triton finished his conversation and his quest left, he beckoned the apprentice forward. Stopping in front of the throne, Terra managed his best bow in his awkward form. "Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Terra, a Keyblade wielder sent here by my master to assist you."

Triton regarded him critically. "How is Eraqus?"

"He sends his regrets that he could not come personally, and his assurances that I will be more than capable enough for the task."

"Very good. That sounds exactly like something Eraqus would say." Triton shifted himself until he could easily push himself off the throne. "I won't waste any time, then. The matter is of…"

When he trailed off, Terra followed his gaze just as a little girl swam into the room, little green tailfins pumping hard behind her. Following her, almost invisible in the wake of her blazing red hair, was a crab, pinwheeling his arms to try to keep up.

"Father!" she said with a half pout, half smile, "I want to go play, but Sebastian," she pointed to the crab, who was trying to catch his breath, " won't let me!"

Triton sighed. "Ariel, I've told you. It's dangerous outside, so you'll have to play inside for now. Why don't you play with your sisters? You'll be able to play outside soon enough."

Ariel didn't look pleased with the idea, but she turned to Terra with a smile. "Are you going to make the bad thing go away?"

"Yes, I am. You can count on me," he said, returning the smile.

Giggling, she nodded and swam off, back in the direction she came from. Sebastian, who had finally caught his breath, let out a sigh and took off after her. Triton ran his fingers through his beard. "My youngest," he smiled, "and also the most energetic. She has more enthusiasm than I can keep up with."

Terra suppressed his laughter. 'Seems like the king of the seas isn't as youthful as he used to be. I guess it happens to everyone sooner or later.'

Clearing his throat, Triton called them back to the matter at hand. "There have been a fair number of sightings in the past few days, and with each, my people are growing more and more concerned."

"If I may ask, what is it that's causing so much concern? My master only provided me with basic details."

"That's the problem: I don't know. From what I've heard, it has many forms, and some of people even say it can change shape."

'_Change_ shape? Sounds a little outrageous to me…' "I assure you, Your Majesty, that I can handle this. My master would not have sent me here if he did not have confidence in my abilities."

With their discussion over, Triton gave him directions to the area where the anomaly had last been spotted and, with another bow, Terra left. He followed the directions carefully, passing schools of fish and chunks of coral that stretched upwards from the seafloor. Finally, as he rounded a large rocky outcropping, he stopped, surprised. Aqua and Ventus, both transformed as he was, were there, trying their best to get a handle for their forms. Ventus, who from all appearances looked to be a dolphin, saw him and pointed, and Aqua turned. Terra felt his cheeks fire up and hoped the distance was enough that she couldn't see him blushing. Aqua was, like most of the merfolk he'd seen, a fish, her lower half the color of the sashes on her combat gear, and she had a pair of seashells strapped to her chest, showing off her compact build. He couldn't help but stare. 'Has Aqua always been that… beautiful?' He was distracted from his thoughts by Ventus. The youngest apprentice was waving at him, and the motion sent him tumbling backwards, his tailfins thumping Aqua soundly in the back. 'Wait a second, why are they here? What are they doing?' Raising an eyebrow in their direction, mostly at Ventus' behavior, he went back to his instructions and swam off.

'Aqua and Ventus… They shouldn't be here. They can't be here on a mission, or I would have heard something about it. Besides, Ventus wouldn't be here if they were, unless he learned to summon his Keyblade in the short time since I left…'

Rounding another corner, something strange entered into his vision, and he stopped. It was a navy blue blob, the size of a large beach ball, with two brown stripes that formed a large X across its mass. It floated in the water, steadily bobbing up and down in place. Cautious, Terra summoned his Keyblade. Almost instantly, the blob reacted, shifting its mass suddenly to form a human figure, minus any distinguishing features. It stared at him for a minute with its featureless face before it changed again, transforming into a shark, the brown X visible on its back. 'What is this thing?' The X monster charged, barely giving Terra enough time to react. He shifted to let the X shark pass, keeping it in sight as he launched a counterattack. The X changed shape again into a formless blob, allowing it avoid every one of his attacks. 'What…? How?'

Terra launched another attack, feeling his Keyblade radiate power as he switched into Fatal Mode. The X monster responded accordingly: it lunged straight at him, catching him off guard, and wrapped itself around him, binding his arms to his side. Part of its mass clamped itself over his mouth and nose. Terra struggled, but the X monster didn't move. Slowly, his vision shifted from clear to fuzzy, finally going black as he passed out.


	4. Horror

**Chapter 4 - Horror**

* * *

Land of Departure, Three years before _Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep_

* * *

Aqua searched all over the castle, Ventus in tow, but there was no sign of Terra. 'Which is strange. I've checked _everywhere_, even places Terra wouldn't be caught dead in, and I _still_ can't find him. Where could he be?' Part of her felt like giving up, still tired from their match, but her conscience spurred her on, propelling her down hallways and through training rooms. They searched outside as well, but still nothing.

After about three hours of searching, they stopped on the stairs, Aqua sitting grumpily with her knees to her chest. Ventus dropped down beside her, looking exhausted. Looking at him, she felt bad. 'I dragged him along like that, and I barely even paid attention to him. He probably had a hard time keeping up with me.' She opened her mouth to apologize, but was promptly cut off.

"Aqua and Ventus. I assume you have something better to do than sit in the middle of the staircase?"

Aqua looked over her shoulder and jumped to her feet with such speed that she almost toppled backwards. "M-my apologies, Master." Grabbing Ventus' arm lightly, she hoisted him to his feet, off to the side near the handrail.

Ventus looked up at her. "Terra?" he asked, barely a whisper.

'Oh right! Why didn't I think of it before? If anyone knows…' "Master?"

Eraqus stopped a few steps down and looked back at them. "Something I can help you with, Aqua?"

"Yes, Master. I was wondering if you know where Terra is. I've been looking for him, but I can't seem to find him."

"This is about your argument, correct?"

Aqua's heart sank. 'He knows? That means…Terra told him. Terra only tells Eraqus things when they're really bothering him. Oh, I've messed up so badly…' "Y-yes, it is. I need to apologize to him for the things I said."

"If you're looking for him, it's a bit too late," he replied, a soft smile on his face. "I sent Terra off on a mission, and he'll be gone for some time. You'll have to wait until he returns."

'But that's too long!' "Master, where exactly is this mission that you sent him on?"

Eraqus sighed. "Aqua, you know that if you go after Terra, you'll probably make him more upset. As well, you'll have to take Ventus with you, and you know he has yet to summon his Keyblade. I doubt your Rider will support the both of you."

"I can go," Ventus said, meeting Aqua's eyes. To her surprise, she didn't doubt him for a second. "I can go. Aqua needs to apologize."

"Yes, I do," she smiled to Ventus before turning back to her master. "We can manage. I assure you of that, Master."

The Keyblade master looked over his younger apprentices thoroughly, almost to the point that Aqua feared he would refuse, before he said, "Atlantica. You should find him easily once you get there."

When their master was gone, Aqua laughed, clutching her side when it started to flare up in pain. Ventus cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Terra _hates_ water. Atlantica… sounds like a water-type world to me." She caught her breath. "Come on."

Once they were outside, Aqua began to ponder their problem. 'Ventus can't use his Keyblade, so he can't use a Rider, meaning that we'll have to share mine. I'm not sure if we'll manage, but it's worth a shot. …Then again…if Ventus can't use his armor…' "Ventus?"

"Huh?"

"You… have armor, correct?"

Ventus nodded and punched his shoulder armor, which she hadn't paid much attention to before. His armor expanded in a flash of light and when it had assembled, Aqua looked him over. It was blue, like hers, but a lighter, brighter color, bordered golden and red. He took a step forward and pitched forward, losing his balance, but Aqua caught him by the shoulders.

"Be careful, okay?"

Ventus nodded. "Okay."

"Then, we're ready to go," Aqua smiled, summoning up her own silver and blue armor. Summoning her Keyblade, _Rain Fall_, Aqua transformed it into her Keyblade Rider, a metal base and handles in the style of her Keyblade suspended a comfortable distance apart. Climbing on, she realized something. 'My Rider is designed for one person. There isn't enough room for two… Oh, great…' "Ventus, get on behind me and hold on."

He tilted his head. "Hold on?"

"Yes," she said grimly, "Hold onto me."

Without another comment, he did as he was told, wrapping his arms around her waist. Aqua tried to hold herself as close to the front as possible, standing straight to give him more room, and then urged her Rider away from the Land of Departure.

* * *

Atlantica, Three years before _Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep_

* * *

The journey to Atlantica had been the most trying experience in Aqua's recent life. The added weight of Ventus had slowed down their progress considerably, and his hold on her made it harder to steer. A few times he had almost fallen off, but Aqua's quick thinking eventually got them to their destination.

When they arrived, the Rider pulled to a halt above the surface of the water. 'Wh-what's going on? Why did it stop?' The Rider responded to her silent question by pitching violently, dropping them both into the water before it transformed back into a Keyblade. Aqua, feeling her armor start to fill with water, grabbed her Keyblade as dismissed it before she was pulled under the surface.

Having spent her early years in a world with an ocean, Aqua wasn't scared by the prospect of being pulled underwater, but she'd had some bad experiences with people, specifically Terra, almost drowning, so her mind dropped into panic. Frantically, she patted her arm, looking for the button to disengage her armor. She found it finally, feeling her lungs fighting for air, and her armor vanished the moment she gasped for air. Much to her surprise, water filled her lungs and she expected to choke, but it revitalized her, filling her with energy. 'Okay, I can breathe underwater. Wait, where's-?'

Looking around, she spotted Ventus a few feet away, laughing excitedly as he did underwater flips, rolling head over fin. 'Fin?' On closer inspection, Ventus was half dolphin, his lower half a sleek silver with a smooth dorsal fin protruding from his back. He was shirtless as well, giving Aqua a view of his skinny body and the compact muscles layering it.

Aqua tried to move towards him, but her legs didn't respond properly and, looking down, she realized why. Like Ventus, Aqua had transformed, her lower half that of a fish, light blue scales matching the sashes on her combat gear. Her clothes had vanished as well, replaced by a pair of seashells strapped to her chest. 'At least whatever magic is acting on this world is thoughtful magic.' "Ventus, come on. We have to find Terra."

Ventus rolled to a stop in front of her, looking over her shoulder. "No need," pointed behind her.

Aqua turned to see what he was pointing at and felt her eyes widen. Floating near a rocky outcropping was Terra, transformed as they were. Aqua felt her cheeks get hot as she looked at him, praying silently that he couldn't see. His lower half appeared to be similar to Ventus', but slightly difference and a dark navy blue to Ventus' silvery grey. All of his muscular build was visible, compact like Ventus', but it was easily evident that there was much more of it, chiseled and sculpted perfectly. 'I knew Terra was muscular, but…This is something else…' His usually messy hair was waving in the underwater current, reminding her a bit of a lion's mane, but it didn't obscure her view of his eyes. He didn't look angry; just confused.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Ventus was waving, but the effort pushed his upper half backwards and his tailfins thumped her hard from behind. Aqua jumped, as much as she could underwater, and then turned to glare at the youngest apprentice before deciding against it. Turning back, she saw Terra was swimming away, and she gasped. His lower half was that of a shark, his dorsal fin jagged and scarred.

Ventus watched over her shoulder. "We follow him?"

"I don't think so," Aqua sighed, "We can't swim well enough to catch up to him. Besides, if Terra's on a mission, then we'd be swimming into battle and we'd get in the way. We should try and find out about the mission he's on, see if we can help him or something."

It took them a while to adjust, much longer than Aqua would have hoped, but they finally got moving. Acting on her intuition, she led Ventus in the direction she thought Terra had come from. Eventually, it took them to an underwater castle of white stone columns.

"Pretty," Ventus muttered, awestruck as they entered.

"You can say that again."

"Pretty."

"It's a figure of speech, Ventus. I didn't mean for you to actually say it."

He chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry."

Their exploration of the palace eventually led them to the throne room, where the ruler of the world, a mighty and wise looking merman, was sitting on his throne. Aqua pulled to a stop in front of him and bowed, lightly pushing Ventus' head down when she noticed him staring.

"Pardon us, Your Majesty. We are Keyblade wielders, here to assist our companion in his task. He's-"

"Yes, I've met him. Terra, he said his name was. You're also apprentices of Eraqus?"

Aqua nodded. "We are, Your Majesty. We've been sent to supervise our comrade and ensure that the task is completed with as little effort and damage as possible."

Ventus' eyebrows knitted together. "But, Aqua, aren't we-" he began, whispering.

"Shh, Ventus. Don't _say_ that," she whispered back firmly.

King Triton raised his eyebrows. "Is there something I should know about?"

"Terra… tends to overdo things often," Aqua explained, trying to sound sincere. "He lets his own strength get the better of him sometimes and the results are… less than desirable. We're very good at mediating his strength, so…"

A loud scream interrupted her, sending a chill down her spine. Ventus cringed, curling into a ball as best as his form would allow. Triton sprang off his throne, his trident blazing in his hands.

"We're going?" Ventus asked, sounding small and afraid.

Aqua nodded grimly. "Better we do than we don't. With your permission, of course, Your Majesty."

"Since you're here, that sounds like the best option," the King replied.

The scream had come from the courtyard, so they headed back outside the castle to it. There, several of the merfolk, whom Aqua hadn't seen on their way in, were floating in odd positions, some hanging forward while others were draped backwards, as if lying on an invisible bed. As they got closer, Aqua could see the water was stained a faint pink around them, and a couple of them were groaning loudly, obviously in pain. She cringed, preparing to summon her Keyblade. 'They were attacked, but by who? Who could have done such a thing? Maybe it has something to do with…with…'

Aqua's thought trailed off as she saw that, in the shadow of one of the pillars, Terra was there. His face was obscured in shadow, but she recognized his hair and the tattered dorsal fin. What stopped her from going to him was his Keyblade. _Earth Shaker_ was hanging loosely from his hand, a pink haze around it.

"Terra?" she breathed, staring wide-eyed at him.

Both Ventus and King Triton turned to see him just as Terra dropped his Keyblade and swam off, the weapon vanishing as it hit the seafloor. Aqua started to swim after him, but Triton's loud voice made her stop.

"What is the meaning of this!" he yelled, his face getting redder as his voice got louder.

Aqua didn't waste any time. Swimming as fast as she could, she grabbed Ventus by the arm and dragged him along with her. She didn't slow down with the added weight, not even after they were out of sight of the palace.

"Aqua, what happened?"

"Nothing, Ventus. Nothing at all. I just didn't want to be around him when he exploded."

"He was going to blow up?"

"Not literally. Anyway, we have to find Terra."

"But you said-"

"I know what I said!" she snapped, louder than necessary, "But now we have to find him!"

Ventus said nothing, silently allowing her to pull him along. Aqua hardly noticed, her mind fixed on other things. Her eyes began to sting, and she ground her teeth together. 'Why, Terra? Why…? Why would you do something like that?'


	5. Directions

**Chapter 5 - Directions**

* * *

Atlantica, Three years before _Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep_

* * *

Images flashed in Terra's head as he came to: a little boy with silvery hair standing on a beach. An unconscious Aqua lying on the ground in a ravine, a youth wearing an organic-looking black and red suit standing over her. A blond haired girl in a white dress standing in front of a pod containing a brown haired boy dressed in red. A red haired man and a raven-haired girl sitting at the top of a clock tower with a boy who looked like Ventus, all of them wearing black coats. Master Eraqus lying on the ground, obviously in pain, one of his arms twisted in an unnatural manner.

At the last image, Terra jolted into full awareness and tried suddenly to sit up, but his head hit something and bounced off it, pushing him back down. His dorsal fin hit the surface underneath him and he roared in pain, not expecting it to hurt so much. He bit his lip to clam himself down, taking in his surroundings. It was dark and cramped, meaning that he was contained in something. In addition to that, the water around him was warm. 'I'm in something alive. That's…weird. How did I end up in here?' An image of the X creature flashed in his head. 'Thank you for answering me, clairvoyance, Yes, I was fighting that X thing, whatever it was. But then how… it must have put me in here after it knocked me out. Strange… Well, I'll worry about that later. Getting out of here is the priority.'

Feeling around, he found the surface underneath him was fairly soft, and it pulsed and squirmed under his touch. 'Then…' Lifting his arm as much as he could in the limited space, he swung it down with as much force as he could generate. His fist hit the squishy surface and it caved. Suddenly, there was a loud gurgling noise and, in a stream of bubbles, Terra was violently catapulted back into the open water. Turning back, he saw that he'd been expelled from a giant oyster. The oyster spewed another stream of water at him.

Terra scowled back at it. "Believe me, I enjoyed that just as much as you did." Turning away from it, he looked around, trying to get his bearings. 'What's… this feeling? Something feels incredibly off, but what is it?' Summoning his Keyblade, Terra felt something and looked down at it. 'Why does it feel like… someone other than me has been using this? But that's… impossible, isn't it?' Brushing it off, he dismissed his Keyblade and took off.

After a while of wandering, Terra stopped, looking around. 'I'll admit it. I'm lost. I've never complained about my sense of direction before, but right now, it's failed me completely. Maybe being underwater is throwing it off…'

"Terra!"

Turning around, he managed to push himself out of the way as Aqua came barreling in his direction, dragging Ventus behind her. She let go of him and stopped, causing him to slam into her and send both of them tumbling through the water. Terra watched them blankly until Aqua swam over, their faces barely inches apart.

"Why did you do that!" she yelled.

Terra could only blink. "Huh?"

"How could you do something like that!"

"What did I do?"

"What do you mean 'what did you do'! You know exactly what you did!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Aqua," Ventus interrupted, swimming over to join them. "That wasn't Terra. This is Terra." Both of them turned to him with confused faces before he continued. "This… feels like Terra. Other Terra… felt different. Scarier…"

Aqua didn't seem convinced. She gave Terra a skeptical once over, which made him nervous, before she spoke. "Still, it was Terra. Feeling or not, they looked the same, and he was wielding _Earth Shaker_."

It all suddenly clicked in Terra's head. "That _thing_! So that's what it did!"

"What thing did what?" Aqua asked, looking more confused than before.

"I was here on a mission to get rid of a strange… thing, and it turned out to be a shape shifting monster of some sort. It sounds crazy, but it attacked me and knocked me out. It stole my Keyblade. I'm sure of it."

"It sounds crazy to me…"

"I believe you," Ventus piped up, and they both turned back to look at him. For the first time, he smiled cheerfully. Terra was taken aback. 'He… he really looks happy…This… is the Ventus that my clairvoyance keeps showing me. At least he's making some progress.'

Aqua suddenly turned. "I'm pretty sure we don't have time for this. That guy with the trident didn't look very happy when we last saw him, and anyone in charge of an underwater world probably has something in store for us that we won't like."

Suddenly, from over the top of an outcropping of coral reef, a large swarm of sharks, squids, and octopi emerged, swimming towards them at top speed. None of them looked pleased.

Terra scowled. "You just had to go and open your mouth."

"Be quiet and ru-…er, swim!" Aqua snapped, taking off with a flick of her tailfins.

They swam in the opposite direction of their followers, Aqua in the lead while Terra brought up the rear, making sure Ventus was always in front of him. The current was against them, pushing them as they tried to escape their pursuers. Looking back over his shoulder, Terra could see that the gap between them was quickly closing. "Aqua, any ideas on getting out of this?"

"The sea floor is rising!" Aqua called back, "We're getting closer to the shore!"

Much to his surprise, Aqua's observation was correct. The sea floor was gradually sloping upwards, cutting off the amount of water available to swim in. Behind them, their pursuers were realizing that as well, slowing up but never stopping. Feeling energized, the three apprentices picked up speed, gliding smoothly ahead. The pursuing group sped up in response.

"We can't outrun them," Ventus grunted and pulled to a halt, floating between the older apprentices and their pursuers with his arms spread defiantly. Terra, who had just passed him, turned around without stopping and grabbed Ventus around the waist, yanking him along.

Aqua reached the shoreline before them, pulling herself up through the sand. The moment her shoulders hit air, her clothes magically reappeared, covering any part of her that was out of the water until she clear it up to her hips. There, her lower half transformed back into normal legs and she scrambled higher up onto the shore, gasping for air. When Terra got as close to the shoreline as he could, still hauling Ventus, he grabbed the younger apprentice and tossed him up. The blond boy burst through the water's surface, instantly transformed back to normal, and landed on the sand next to Aqua.

With a quick glance back at their pursuers, who were gaining on them, Terra began pulling himself onto dry land. It was much harder than he had expected, the water acting like suction as it tried to pull him back in. He fought it, his muscles straining, until he yanked himself clear, dropping himself onto his back in the sand just about the tide.

"Have I… told you," he panted, looking up the beach at Aqua and Ventus, who looked equally drained, "…that I… _hate_ water?"

Aqua shrugged. "Not recently, but you've mentioned it before."

"Then I'll say it again: I _hate_ water!"

All three of them burst into relieved laughter and then lay back on the beach, exhausted. Terra stared up at the sky, watching the clouds. 'What were those images before? That beach… felt familiar… And I've seen Aqua in that place before, a long time ago. Though, that girl in white… I've never seen her before, or those two that were with the kid who looked like Ventus. Something about that kid feels… not familiar, but as though I should know who he is…' The image of Master Eraqus flashed in his head again, and he ground his teeth. 'No, I can't let that distract me. That could be anything and happen at any time. It probably won't happen for a long time. I shouldn't worry.'

* * *

When Terra's senses were coming back, he realized that Aqua was calling his name and that he must have fallen asleep. He didn't want to wake up, feeling groggy, but something made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, a sign that something sinister was coming. Sitting up with a jolt, he looked around, trying to find what it was, but it had vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

"Something wrong, Terra?" Aqua asked, sitting down beside him.

He pressed his hands solidly against the sand, ready to spring into battle at a moment's notice. "Did you… feel something just now?"

"Feel something?"

"A strange presence. It felt… vile. Pure evil."

Aqua placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're wound up. You just need to…"

Both of them paused, looking at each other silently until Terra shifted his gaze to her hand. Blushing, she quickly pulled it back, folding them together in her lap. Terra felt his chest tightening again, but it was for a different reason than before.

"Wh-where's Ventus?" he asked, trying to change the topic.

She pointed behind them. Looking back, he saw the younger apprentice leaning up against a rock. "He was tired, so I told him to get some rest."

Another awkward silence passed before Terra asked, "Have… have you been up this whole time?"

"If I wasn't, who would? You were asleep."

He blushed, embarrassed. "Uh…"

His next words came out in a rush, saying "There's something I-" at the same time Aqua turned to him and began, "Terra, I wanted to-" Both of them stopped midsentence, not wanting to interrupt. "No, you-" they both began at the same time.

Terra bit his lip. "We have to stop doing that."

"We do," Aqua smiled, "You first."

"No, you first," he replied, and quickly added, "I won't accept it any other way."

She sighed. "Terra, I wanted to apologize to you. I'm sorry about the things I said. I want you to know that I didn't mean any of it."

"This… is about before?"

"Of course. What else would it be about?"

Terra laughed softly, staring out at the sea. "There's no need to apologize for that. I figured you didn't mean it and forgave you long ago."

Aqua was silent for a minute before she jumped to her feet. "You mean I came all this way to apologize, dragging Ventus with me, and you already forgave me!"

"Um… yeah."

"Men!" she grumbled, dropping herself back into the sand.

Terra laughed. "Yeah, men. We don't hold grudges over stuff like that."

"And if you did hold a serious grudge against someone?"

"If I did hold a serious grudge, I'd have to hate that person with my very heart and soul. I'd hunt them down with everything I had until I settled the score, not matter what the cost."

Aqua elbowed him. Don't say such scary things. That'd have to be a very serious grudge."

Terra laughed, but another image flashed in his head: a Keyblade that looked vaguely like _Earth Shaker_ sticking out of the ground in the ravine area, his armor piled up beside it, half assembled… in thin air. It looked as though it was attaching itself to an invisible person. He mentally cringed, feeling a combination of pure hatred and disgust being passed from the image to him.

"And? You wanted to say something?"

Hearing Ventus behind him groaning as he woke up, he gave Aqua a smile and shook his head. "Later. It's something I want to say to Master Eraqus as well." 'I have to tell them about this. Now, I don't have a choice. I have to tell them about my clairvoyance.' "Ready to go, Ventus?"

Ventus, already on his feet, shook his head vigorously. "Enough! Enough, enough, enough!" Both of them stared at him in confusion. "Enough 'Ventus this' and 'Ventus that'! Call me Ven."

Terra could help but laugh. Standing up, he dusted the sand off his backside and summoned his armor and Keyblade. "Alright, Ven, Aqua, let's go home."


	6. Desperation

**Chapter 6 - Desperation**

* * *

Land of Departure, Three years before _Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep_

* * *

They arrived back at the Land of Departure without much trouble, as Terra carried Ven on his Rider, which was more capable of supporting them both. The moment they landed, Aqua felt that something was off, and from his expression, Terra felt the same. Cautiously, they disengaged their armor and, armed, they made their way to the castle entrance, Ven walking tensely between them. The front doors to the castle were ajar, and Terra stopped them before they got there. Alone, he went over to take a closer look, pressing his back up against the closed door as he peaked around the edge. Ven stood closer to Aqua's side, nearly trembling. Aqua placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and her heart soared when she saw him smile. 'There's a difference. With Ven, I feel like I'm a mother or older sister, so seeing him happy makes me happy. Terra's different. His true smiles are rare, so I feel like I just won a prize when he smiles at me. I… never realized that before. There's something about Terra that I can't help but love.'

Turning her attention back to the matter at hand, she saw Terra's expression contort in rage a second before he slammed into the ajar door and almost took it off its hinges as he raced inside. Taking Ven's hand, she took off after him. Inside the doorway, the scene shocked her and Ven let out a pained whine, hiding behind her. Eraqus was lying on the floor at the foot of the stairs, the front of his clothes torn and bloody, one of his arms twisted into an unnatural position. Terra was crouched at his side, his head close to their master's chest.

"He's alive," he explained, lifting his head up, his expression grim, "Just unconscious. Aqua, he needs healing."

Aqua pushed her sleeves up to her elbows and jogged over, Ven rushing to catch up to her. She crouched down by their master's side and assessed the damage, prodding him lightly with her fingers to look for fractures. Of the two of them, Aqua had more of an aptitude for magic, and healing magic in particular, so no one argued: if serious healing had to be done, it was in her hands to do it. 'Broken arm, obviously, three or more places, one being his wrist, as though something was ripped from his hands… Focus! Okay. Concussion, side of the head; not life threatening, but the cause of his unconsciousness. Three… make that four broken ribs, two more are fractured. A little bit of organ damage, but again, nothing life threatening. …Alright, nothing I can't handle.' "Terra, once I finish setting his arm, I need you to hold it in place so I can heal it."

"Right," he nodded, looking grim.

Aqua began shifting Eraqus' arm, stopping occasionally to make sure she was setting it properly. Standing behind her, Ven fidgeted, looking around nervously. Terra seemed just as tense, his knuckles white as he waited for her to finish.

"This is all my fault," Terra grumbled suddenly, and Aqua stopped. "I knew this was going to happen. I should have warned him."

Aqua was taken aback. "What do you mean? How did you know this was going to happen?"

"Aqua, it's what I wanted to tell you earlier. I can-"

"Look out!" Ven shouted, and both apprentices jumped to their feet.

One of the walls near them exploded into white powder and rock fragments as something on the other side smashed into it. A large chunk of the wall came flying at them. Aqua grabbed Ven and pulled him to the ground, casting Reflect around them and Eraqus as Terra swung his Keyblade and shattered the section in one blow. Another piece, a smaller section, came at them and this time Terra hit it right back, creating a whirlwind in the dust as it passed through. It hit something on the other side and a loud, horrible noise filled the air, sounding like a rocket engine mixed with nails on a chalkboard. Aqua covered her ears, shivering at the sound.

Looking up, Aqua saw through the clearing dust that something was moving, but it looked fluid, flowing up around the piece of wall to reform into a solid figure. She thought at first that it was standing in shadow, but closer inspection revealed that it was actually dark, a navy blue with brown bands forming an X across its chest. In its hands was a familiar Keyblade, which she realized with a jolt was their master's.

Terra was furious. "_You_!" he snarled, making Ven cringe in her arms, "You're the one! You knocked me out and stole my Keyblade, and then you came here and… You'll pay!"

"Terra, stop!" Aqua shouted at the top of her lungs, dissolving her shield before she jumped up and grabbed him by the shoulders. It took all her restraint to stop from holding him tighter. "Losing your temper won't get us anywhere! You'll probably just-"

"If I don't stop him now, what good will it do! I can't just sit here and let things happen like this! If I don't stop him… what use am I!"

Pushing her hands off with a rough shrug of his shoulders, Terra charged at the X, who blocked his attacks as if it was almost second nature. Terra threw blow after blow at it, backing the two of them out of the entranceway and into the empty courtyard. The X deflected one of Terra's blows so that rebounded and clipped off another section of the wall, making the hole bigger. They vanished out of her sight, the sound of metal on metal reaching her ears.

"Ven, stay here!" she instructed, trying to his as she readied her Keyblade, "Look after Master Eraqus! I'm going to go stop Terra!"

Ven looked horrified by the prospect. "Aqua, don't! Please don't! Don't leave me here alone!"

She gave him a smile. "You'll be safer here. This way, we can fight it without worrying about you. Just say here, and no matter what you hear, don't come out!"

He yelled after her, but she blocked it out, bounding through the hole. Terra was locked in battle with the X, their Keyblades rebounding off each other with such force that sparks flew. She charged, catching up to them when their Keyblades met: in that split second, she attacked, sending a fireball from the tip of her Keyblade. Instead of dodging and leaving itself open for attack, as she had expected, its stomach split down the middle and opened into a large hole. Her fireball went right through it.

It pushed off Terra's Keyblade and jumped back, surging forward in the shape of a long, disfigured snake. Both of them jumped out of the way, but it split, one half separating from the other as it wound its way after them. When the two pieces reach the point where there was nothing left to separate, it gave up its chase of Aqua and transformed into a lion. It jumped at Terra with a loud roar, a less pained version of its earlier noise, and collided with him as he turned to track it. Terra rolled backwards on the ground, exchanging the dominant position with it as he fought to keep it at bay. It scratched his face, leaving red lines of bloody cuts, and Terra used his Keyblade as a lever. He pushed it off his chest and into the air, where a shard of ice from Aqua's Keyblade hit it and turned it into a giant icicle. The icicle imbedded itself in the ground.

Aqua ran over to his side. "Did we get it?"

"Don't speak too soon," Terra grunted, pushing himself back to his feet.

There was a loud crack as the icicle split in half and shattered, depositing the X back on the ground unscathed. Eraqus' Keyblade oozed out from its side and back into its hand and it charged, faster than before. Aqua cast Reflect, causing the X to bounce off, but it renewed its attack, shifting into another snake, the Keyblade protruding from its head as it attacked the magical shield from all sides.

"What now?" she asked no one in particular, nibbling on of her fingernails in thought. "What to do, what to do…"

Terra turned to her. "We're not attacking it seriously enough," he snapped, his Keyblade covered in a glow that extended up his arm. "We need to kill it, right now."

"Don't be so rash! We can think of a plan if we-"

A cracking noise made them look up. In the direct center of the spell above them, the X had broken through, dropping between them as the spell shattered around them. Terra charged, bringing his Keyblade at the X in quick swings, always maintaining a position where he could easily switch to a guard. The X fought back, meeting each of Terra's blows with one of its own, their strengths canceling the others out.

Jumping back to give them space, Aqua charged up her own power, feeling the strength of her magical reserves giving her added power. Releasing her Keyblade from her head, she flicked it through the air towards the X, who was still busy countering Terra's attacks. Much to her surprise, the X picked up speed, blocking her and Terra's attacks without once stopping to dodge or guard. She almost lost control of her Keyblade, but brought her focus back. 'If we can't keep this up, we'll never beat it. If we even think of giving up, we'll be defeated. Terra's right. We need to beat it, here and now!'

Aqua channeled magic into her Keyblade and it coated itself in electricity, adding extra ferocity to her attacks. Terra noticed this and shifted his position to avoid getting hit, while adding even more power to his attacks, his muscles bunching up and stretching under his skin to violently that Aqua thought he'd pull them. Still, the X didn't flinch, taking all of Aqua's electrified hits without even the slightest indication that her attacks were working. It didn't skip a beat blocking Terra's attacks either.

Within minutes, Aqua was too exhausted to continue. Her Keyblade jumped back to her hands and she charged, shifting into regular attacks, mixing her quick jabbing strikes with Terra's slower, bone-shattering ones. The X blocked each and every one without hesitation.

Finally, Terra let out a yell of pain and dropped back, his arms hanging limply by his sides. Aqua jumped back beside him, trying to focus some healing magic, but the X shifted gears, targeting them with attacks. It dived at them like a wave, forcing them apart. Aqua cart wheeled smoothly out of the way, but Terra, encumbered by his heavy Keyblade in his sore arms, toppled over. The X twisted and charged him, pinning him to the ground with strikes. Terra rolled to avoid some, finding strength in his arms to block others, but a lot of them hit, mostly his sides and shoulders. Aqua tried to get closer to attack it, but it changed part of its form into a bear, roaring and swiping at her if she got too close. She could hear the blows hitting Terra, echoing and cracking.

Taking a chance, Aqua ran at it. The bear claws grazed her arms, but she didn't care. Her Keyblade collided with its face and she pushed herself off the ground, using the Keyblade's position to push herself higher. In the air, she flipped and fired off a Curaga spell, landing on the stone ledge on the other side. Terra, having regained his strength, used his Keyblade to bat the X off him, pushing himself to his feet before he stumbled back against the ledge. The X pooled on the ground, its stolen Keyblade stuck in the ground in its center.

"Are we… even… getting…anywhere?" Terra gasped, his fingers scraping against the stone blocks. "We're… not winning…That's… for sure…"

"I… have no… clue," she panted, gripping her knees for support, "But… we can't… stop…"

Terra gritted his teeth. "Not until we stop it!"

The X picked itself up, back in its humanoid form, and Terra charged it, ready to attack with full force. Aqua jumped nimbly off the ledge to join him, but stopped. 'Something about his stance is different. What are you trying, Terra?' The X was prepared, Keyblade at the ready, predicting an attack. Terra, however, had different plans; when he got close enough, he skidded forward, kicking the X's feet out from under it. It fell across his leg and Terra brought his Keyblade down, slicing through its slippery-looking substance. He grabbed the handle of Eraqus' Keyblade and tried to free it as he jumped back to his feet, but the X's top half maintained its hold. Both halves together counterattacked: the lower half with a kick and the upper half with a punch. Terra took both to the stomach and went flying, tumbling in a dirtball across the ground, barely able to hold on to his Keyblade.

"Terra!" Aqua ran towards him, completely forgetting to think about the enemy.

"Look out!"

Turning her attention in the direction of the voice, Aqua managed to block an attack from the X, who had reformed completely. She cart wheeled back, bringing her armored boots up to smack it in the face. Stunned, it stumbled backwards.

"Ven!" she shouted, turning her attention to the blond apprentice, who was standing in the hole in the wall, "I told you to stay back!"

Ven shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't!"

Terra was already on his feet. "Careful!"

The X had recovered and, instead of tackling the tired apprentices, was charging straight at Ven. Aqua, frozen in fear, didn't have time to react. There wasn't time to cast a spell or attack the shape-shifting monstrosity with her Keyblade. It was between them and Ven, and there wasn't time for anything. Aqua couldn't watch. She closed her eyes.


	7. Determined

**Chapter 7 - Determined**

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Land of Departure, Three years before _Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep_

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Terra was the first to see the X charging at Ven, and he was the first to react. "Quake!" The ground shook, dislodging more chunks from the wall. Ven hung on to the edge of the hole, trying not to fall over. Aqua, unprepared, stumbled back against the ledge. Even the X stumbled, wobbling on its feet. Only Terra was unaffected and took that moment to attack, rushing over to the X to attack. It pooled to duck under his attack, and then slithered between his legs to attack from behind. Aqua was there to meet it with an attack from her Keyblade, but the X dodged that was well, grabbing the opposite end of her Keyblade and tossing her. Terra caught her in his arms and took a step back, meeting the wall. "That worked better than I had expected."

Before, the X had been between them and Ven. Now, Ven was right beside them, all three apprentices facing down the X.

"Terra, you can put me down now." Looking at Aqua, he realized he was still holding her. Carefully, knowing he was blushing, he put her back on her feet.

"Sorry," he muttered, "But listen, I have another plan."

"Since when did you have a first plan?"

Terra raised an eyebrow in a 'how did you not notice it?' expression and smiled. "Cover me."

Staring at him for a moment, Aqua shook her head and sighed. "Another one of your crazy schemes…"

"If I recall correctly, you like them. They always seem to work anyway."

"It's not that I don't, but…"

"Um, guys?" Ven interrupted, looking frightened. "It's coming."

Looking back, they saw he was right. The X was charging straight at them, Keyblade ready in an attacking position.

"I'll hold it off, so hurry!" Aqua shouted, charging in to meet it.

Terra didn't waste a second; he balanced his Keyblade on one shoulder, closing his eyes in concentration. The sounds of Aqua battling met his ears; metal clashing with metal, bursts of magic exploding against the ground, and the sounds of the X shifting from form to form, a wet gushing noise. Somewhere behind him, he could hear Ven whimpering, his fingers digging into the broken wall. Above all of it, he could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. 'Now's not the time to be worrying about it. Focus!' Adjusting his grip on his Keyblade, Terra felt his power surge as the metal shifted under his fingers, expanding and contracting until it reached the form he was trying for; a giant cannon, the end pulsing and grinding as it charged.

'Here comes the hard part…' Pouring his power into it, he charged the attack, pushing more and more energy into it until he felt it peak. 'I swear, when we're finished, I'm going to work on improving this.' "Aqua, now!"

Hearing his signal, Aqua dived out of the way, rolling to the side as a beam of concentrated power burst from Terra's Keyblade cannon. The amount of force pushed Terra back to the hole, where he stumbled back, the jagged edge tripping him. Ven ran over and braced him until the attack finished, the beam tapering off.

"Di-did we… get it?" Ven asked, peeking around Terra's side.

Terra's Keyblade returned to its regular form. "Here's hoping…"

The attack left the ground steaming and, from the center of the beam's path, a long rope-like projection of the X slithered up, wailing and moaning in its horrible, ear-splitting voice. Behind him, Ven covered his ears, but Terra stayed in a battle ready position, watching carefully. Slowly, the X brought all of its mass back into its humanoid form, still gripping the Keyblade.

"But how?" Ven gasped, wide-eyed in surprise. "It should have been blasted into nothing!"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out!" Terra growled, rushing in to attack.

The X replied to his attack by slithering under his attack, under his feet, and springing him up and away. Terra went flying, crashing into the stone ledge with enough force to knock the air out of him. For a moment, everything went fuzzy, all of his senses blurred over. 'No! I'm not going to pass out! Aqua and Ven need me!' Despite that, his limbs felt sapped of all their strength and he was having a hard time breathing. 'Something… feels broken…'

He pushed himself up enough that he could take a deep breath, but stabbing pain made him recoil. A yelp and crash beside him made him look up as Aqua crashed into the ledge near him. She slumped against the wall, looking dazed, a deep cut on her face bleeding. Her Keyblade clattered from her hands to the ground.

Terra struggled to stand up, but the pain overpowered him, bringing him to his knees before he fell flat on his face, gasping for air. His vision began to black out, darkness closing in on all sides as he saw the X regarding them before it turned to face Ven. All of his strength drained away, and he fought unconsciousness with all his might.

'This… this isn't the way it ends. I can't… let things go like this. We have to keep fighting! We have to beat that thing! If not… No, losing isn't an option. Losing… we can't…'

Images flashed in his mind with such speed that he could merely make all of them out. There were some that he could see nothing at all, but others were clearer. A little girl with red hair lying unconscious on a beach, the waves crashing around her ankles. The silver haired boy he'd seen before, only much older, standing amidst a storm, a portal of darkness swirling behind him. The brown haired boy standing in a brightly lit town with a duck and what looked like a dog, all three of them smiling. The red haired girl standing in a cave, looking at drawings carved into the wall with a smile and tears of joy. The brown haired boy protecting the blond girl in the white dress from a sadistic-looking blond woman in a black coat. The boy who looked like Ven standing with the raven haired girl, her holding a silver and yellow Keyblade while he brandished a stick in front of him. The same boy wearing clothes similar to Ven's, holding the silver and yellow Keyblade while watching the brown haired boy sleep in the pod with a sad smile. A small mouse wearing a black coat standing with his back to the brown haired boy, duck, and dog, his arms spread wide. The red haired girl and the blond girl standing together, looking ready to fight. The brown haired boy and the silver haired boy facing down a white haired man in a black and white coat.

Seeing all those images, Terra felt his strength returning. 'Those children, whoever they are, are fighting. They're fighting their own battles, no matter who they're fighting or what they're fighting for. They're not giving up, and neither will I! I'll fight that monster for them, and for Aqua, and Ven! I'll get rid of it, even if I have to die trying!'

Terra's eyes snapped open and he sprang to his feet, almost instantly between the X and Ven, blocking what would have been a fatal blow. Ven, startled, tripped and fell on his backside, panting as though he'd been holding his breath. The X cocked its head at Terra's sudden appearance, but only responded by continuing its attacks, directing them at Terra. The oldest apprentice blocked each one deftly not even breaking a sweat, in turn using each of his blocks to push the X back, away from Ven.

Once they were into a more open area, Terra broke off one of his blocks, shoving hard enough to make the X stumble. From there he began his attack, swinging his Keyblade into blow after blow as if it was part of his arm. The X blocked every one, but Terra could feel that it was weakening, his Keyblade pressing more and more into its defense with every strike. Somewhere behind him, he was vaguely aware of Ven cheering him on, but he wasn't paying much attention to it, his mind focused on the battle.

He felt like a machine, feeling nothing except rage as he struck repeatedly. It became less about focusing on attacking and more about where to attacks, his arms moving with barely any instruction or effort on his part. The X could barely defend against his attacks anymore, reduced to being knocked around by him, using the Keyblade as a buffer for damage. Terra didn't really care. He was emotionally detached from it all.

Suddenly, that changed. Terra felt happy, a dark, sickening feeling, but happy nonetheless. His strength soared and he beat down on the X, landing blows that carved away parts of its mass, little globules of bluish goo splattering all along the ground. It was so intoxicating that he couldn't help himself: he laughed, feeling the dark deadly sound ripping itself from his throat.

Almost instantly, the tides turned. The X struck back, all of its strength returning. The little blobs scattered on the ground began returning to it, bringing it back to its original mass. Its attacks quickly grew in strength until Terra was left with barely any way to defend. He used the armor on his arm to brace himself for most of the attacks, combining it with his Keyblade as his only method of defense.

'What happened? I was winning, but it's so much stronger now. It's even stronger than before! How does it keep getting stronger when we attack it relentlessly? It should be weak; weaker than the both of us combined, but now it's stronger! It's impossible! … I can't handle this on my own!' "Aqua!"

The X continued its attack, beating down on him until he felt his skin blistering and bleeding. Terra tried to focus on defending until she came to assist him, but her help didn't come.

"Aqua, I need you! Get over here and help me!"

Terra shifted his weight, keeping the X from pushing him back, but his armored boots negated some of that effect, taking part of the ground with him as he tried to brace himself. Each blow hurt more and more as the pain from his earlier injuries compounded onto his new ones, waves of pain rippling and shuddering through his body to the point that it was unbearable. Still, nothing came.

"Come on, Aqua! Now!"

The X's blows became stronger and stronger until Terra could feel his arm on the verge of breaking, the pain in his forearm and shoulder intensifying with every blow. He ground his teeth, fighting against the pain. Still, nothing.

"Aqua?"

Time, from his perspective, seemed to slow down. He looked over at trying to figure out why she wasn't there helping him. Her expression was one of horror, pure and uncontrolled terror. And she was looking right at him. She was afraid of him. He knew instantly that he was on his own.

The X brought the Keyblade up for an attack and Terra responded, swinging his Keyblade in a wide strike. The X condensed its mass and ducked under it, slipping behind him and circling back to his front, reforming humanoid again. Terra turned around in a circle, trying to keep his eyes on it so he could defend against its next attack, but it surprised him.

Propping the Keyblade against the ground, the X leaned against it and brought its legs up, meeting Terra just as he turned, one foot connecting with his chest while the other sank into his stomach. Both areas exploded with pain, loud cracking signaling the snapping of no less than seven ribs. His stomach emptied acid out into his esophagus, making his throat burn.

At that moment, everything returned to normal speed in his eyes. Terra went flying backwards, smashing into the wall with such force that swore he felt his brain jerk in his head, smashing against his skull. He didn't even hear the crack of his head against the stone before he was instantly out cold.


	8. Wind

**Chapter 8 - Wind**

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Land of Departure, Three years before _Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep_

* * *

Aqua heard the crack of Terra's head against the wall and she flinched. He dropped to the ground like a dead weight, his Keyblade kicking up dirt beside him. The back of his head and the wall he'd smashed into were red with blood, looking ghastly in contrast to the beautiful white building. 'Oh no. Oh no…' "Terra?" she gasped, unable to find her voice, "Terra?" He gave no indication that he heard, lying so silent and still that she thought he might be dead.

'This is my fault… I should have helped him. I should have helped him when he needed me but… I was so scared. I was so afraid. I thought… I thought that he'd… I can't think about that now! I have to go help him!'

Trying to push herself to her feet, her ankle bent and her wrist twisted, making her yelp in pain. She gritted her teeth and tried again, but it had the same result, except more painful. 'You've got to be kidding me! I can't be stuck like this now! Terra needs my help! Ven needs me to protect him! Master Eraqus needs me, too! I need to get up!'

"Aqua, look out!" Ven shouted, and Aqua looked up. The X stood over her, Keyblade ready for attack, looking like Death descending upon her, but when it heard Ven's voice it stopped. Standing perfectly still for what felt like hours, it turned and rounded on Terra.

"No!" Aqua screamed, hoping to attract the X's attention. "If you want a fight, fight me! Are you such a coward that you have to pick on someone who can't fight! Come on, I'll fight you!" 'Just get away from Terra! Please, please, please! Anyone but him, please. Terra… I'll protect you. I'll save you! Just please, please, don't die! Don't die on me!'

The X stopped momentarily, looking over its shoulder at her with its featureless face before it continued on its path towards her defeated friend.

"No!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, tears forming in her eyes, but the sound of metal on metal made her stop.

Looking up, Aqua saw Ven standing between the X and Terra, a determined look on his face as he blocked Eraqus' Keyblade with his own. It was an odd-looking Keyblade and the way he was wielding it was even odder. He held it backhanded, the teeth facing away from him. The Keyblade itself was grey, golden threads of metal trailing along through the teeth and the shaft. The guard was, strangely, not part of the shaft but attached to the side, melding grey and golden metal. The keychain was pure white feathers, each one wrapped in a spiral around a gust of wind. He held the weapon as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

The X attacked Ven, and Aqua felt her stomach drop as she watched. However, the youngest apprentice proved his skill, fending off each blow without budging an inch. The X's strength seemed to be waning, its defense falling apart when Ven began his attack. It was an awe-inspiring sight, seeing the youngest apprentice standing up to such a fearsome opponent. With one strike, Ven knocked the X backwards, throwing off its balance.

"I was scared of you before," he said, looking angrily down at his enemy, "I was scared because you were fighting Terra and Aqua. I didn't want them to get hurt. That's why I had to watch. I had to make sure they were safe. But… they only ended up getting hurt! You hurt them, and that made me mad. It made me so mad! And then… you hurt Terra when he was trying to protect me. That made me even madder than before! And now you want to hurt him when he's down! That makes me maddest of all! I won't let you hurt either of them anymore!"

In the face of Ven's declarations, Aqua was left speechless. 'Ven, he… I was so worried about him before, but he really can look out for himself. He's not as much of a kid as we thought he was. He stands up for what he wants and what he believes in. Right now, he wants to do everything he can. He's tired of sitting on the sidelines watching us. …I believe in him. I have faith that Ven can fight, and that he can win!'

The X rose to its feet, wobbling side to side as it did, facing down the boy. Ven didn't waste a second, jumping in for an attack. He traded blows with the monster, who showed no signs of tiring or stopping, but from Aqua's place on the sidelines, she knew that the battle was one-sided. Ven's attacks hit with more ferocity, his blocks were cleaner, and his movements didn't waste any energy. His conservative style was neat, if not a little out of practice, but it worked. It was like trying to catch a bird with a paper bag; Ven was much too fast, the X much too clumsy.

"Wind!" Ven jumped back and a blast of air exploded from his Keyblade, slamming into the X with enough force to send it tumbling away. When it sprang to its feet, it charged straight at Aqua, but Ven was there, intercepting it as if he'd never moved an inch. The X persisted in its line of attack, trying to get past Ven, but he kept it at bay, his attacks pushing it back each time it tried to surge forward.

Finally, the X swung the Keyblade to attack, but Ven ducked under it and spun, nailing an attack across its knees before he sprung up and his Keyblade met its face. The X let out a wail of agony as it stumbled back, but Ven didn't look like he heard, moving in to continue his attack. He continued attacking, each blow connecting with some part of the X until he knocked the Keyblade from its hands.

Grabbing the second Keyblade in his other hand, he switched styles. The X transformed from animal to animal, trying to find something that would deter the apprentice, but to no avail. He used their master's Keyblade like a shield, holding it flat against his other arm while he struck with his own Keyblade.

Aqua watched, smiling. 'Smart move. He can attack and defend at the same time. It's as though it's second nature, like he's been trained before and all of these things are instinct. I can see why Master Eraqus insists on training him, even though he hasn't summoned his Keyblade before. He's a natural.'

Ven's onslaught of attacks continued and the X's screams of agony grew louder and louder. Aqua cringed, wishing she could cover her ears, but she didn't want to stop watching, even to move. The X transformed again, spreading itself out like a blanket, but Ven struck back, flipping Eraqus' Keyblade into an upward slash before he stabbed his own into the monster's form. It stopped mid-motion, shivering slightly, and then transformed back into its humanoid form. From there, it shifted again and again, transforming from strange animals into what looked like machines, into monstrosities that she couldn't even describe. Finally, it settled back into its humanoid form and, with one last wail of pain, exploded, bluish goo flying everywhere.

After staring at the spot where the monster had been, Ven turned around and jogged to her, wiping the goo off his face. "You okay, Aqua?"

She nodded, dumbstruck.

Ven continued, smiling. "Weird, huh? I wasn't expecting it to do something like that. I mean it just went out of nowhere and 'boom', you know?"

Unable to contain herself any longer, Aqua laughed, and Ven looked at her in confusion before he joined her, the two of them eventually descending back into giggles.

"Oh right! I forgot! Terra!" Ven jumped up and ran over to him, looking worried.

Using what little magic she had left, Aqua poured it into a healing spell and turned it on herself, feeling her broken bones and twisted joints popping back into place. Finally able to move again, she got up and hobbled her way over to them. "Don't try to move him, Ven. His neck may have been broken. If you try to move him, his spinal cord will snap and he'll die." 'If he isn't already…'

Kneeling down, she carefully assessed the damage. 'Good, his neck is fine and he's breathing, so that's one less thing to worry about. Seven broken ribs, one of them almost shattered, two fractured in addition to that. Internal bleeding in several places, mostly in his stomach area. Broken left arm and shoulder, as well as a sprained wrist. And last but not least, fractured skull, possible brain damage. It's impossible to assess how bad it could be right now. He could be brain dead for all I know. Come on, Terra, you can do this.' "Ven, I don't have enough magic power to heal him. I need you to do this. Can you handle it?"

Ven's face was determined. "Of course!" He held out his Keyblade, sparkling with magical energy, and concentrated until the sparkles became a glow. "Heal!" The magic came down as a green glow, coating Terra. Aqua heard his ribs popping back into place and a crinkling as his bones repaired themselves. His breathing evened out, but he didn't show any other signs.

Aqua nodded. "Good. Come on, let's go heal Master Eraqus and then we'll bring Terra inside."

* * *

Despite their healing, Master Eraqus' arm took a long time to heal and had to be put in a cast. The old master didn't complain, even though Aqua knew he would never share his complaints with his students. He expressed his approval of Aqua, Terra, and Ven's actions, and was pleased to hear that Ven could summon his Keyblade, swearing to put Ven to serious training once everyone had recovered.

Terra, on the other hand, was an entirely different story. He remained unconscious for a long time, not making a sound other than his breathing. Aqua spent most of her free time by his side, constantly checking on him and speaking to him. She told him all about her new training partner, who more often than not joined her at his side. Ven made a good training partner, in her opinion, as he didn't hit as hard, but he made himself too hard to hit. His fighting style was rough, too, but the training was helping to straighten it out. She told Terra how much work it took to fix the wall and that he'd have to make up for it, which made Ven fall off the foot of the bed with peals of laughter.

The two of them eventually ended up sleeping in his room, Aqua sleeping in her chair while Ven took the floor with a blanket and pillow. Despite her constant supervision, she still worried that Terra would never wake up. She berated herself day after day for not helping him when she'd had the chance, but Ven almost always managed to cheer her up.

Her fears, however, were for naught. Terra woke up three weeks later, and the first thing he did was express how hungry he was. Aqua and Ven couldn't control their laughter.


	9. Epilogue: Fear

**Epilogue - Fear**

* * *

Land of Departure, Three years before _Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep_

* * *

Ven felt nervous as he stood in front of the door to Eraqus' office. He'd been in there once before, but he didn't remember anything about it. His hands felt sweaty and he wiped them on his pants before he reached for the handle and opened the door. Inside, Master Eraqus sat in his chair, his back turned to the door.

"Come in, Ventus, and take a seat," he said, turning his chair to indicate the other one across the desk from him.

Pushing back his hesitation, he stepped in, closing the door behind him, and took the offered seat. He tried to sit up straight, but his shoulders felt sore enough after a few minutes that he dropped into a semi-slouch.

"Once again, I'm impressed by your performance in defeating that creature. Your training since then has been progressing exceptionally well."

"Thank you, Master," Ven replied, unable to keep the happiness and curiosity out of his voice, "but what exactly was that thing?"

Eraqus looked at him. "It's a special monster created by a magic using Darkness. It's mostly used in assassination purposes, killing off important people. Usually, they're very difficult to defeat because they feed off fear to get stronger, and judging from what Aqua and Terra have told me, it was very strong."

"A monster… that feeds on fear? But… we weren't always afraid of it."

"It doesn't just feed off fear directed at itself. Otherwise, it would have no power. What it does is that it acts out a person's greatest fears and feeds off that resulting emotion."

Ven tilted his head in confusion. "A person's greatest fears?"

"Everyone is afraid of something," Eraqus explained with a sigh, turning to fold his hands on his desk. "The monster began by feeding on Aqua's greatest fear, and-"

"What's Aqua afraid of?"

"Aqua is afraid of Terra falling into Darkness. Both she and I have seen that he has… issues with his anger, and it often gets him into trouble. Aqua and Terra have been close friends for a very long time. They've grown up for most of their lives training side by side, and to her, he is the most important person in her life. She feels that if Terra falls into Darkness, if he does something he regrets, she'll lose him… maybe not physically, but she'll lose the Terra that she cares about. It used the power of her fear to come here and act out Terra's worst fear…"

Ven leaned forward in his chair. "What's Terra afraid of?"

"Terra is afraid of not being able to look after the people he cares about. Terra has had a lot of crisis in his life, and as a result, he holds a select group of people as the most important people in his life. Aqua and I are the primary members of that group, and so Terra does everything he can. He trains harder than anyone else, improving his skills to be the best that they can be, pushing himself to his physical and mental limits for that purpose."

"So, Terra is afraid of not being about to protect those he cares about?"

"Yes. Indirectly, you could say Terra's greatest fear is his own powerlessness," Eraqus leaned back in his chair. "While the two of them were fighting it, it was feeding on your fear, and growing all the much stronger."

"My fear?"

"You may have not realized it, Ventus, but your greatest fear is seeing Terra and Aqua get hurt. You care about them, and so when they were fighting, you were afraid. That creature feed off that fear and grew stronger, putting the two of them in more danger. It became a cycle that generated more power for it."

Ven stared wide-eyed at his hands. "I… I was the one… who put them in danger. It…it's all my fault!"

"Yes, you did put them in danger, but you were also the one who broke that cycle of fear and sapped the monster of all its strength. You overcame your fear and saved the both of them."

"But… I was the one… They probably hate me now..."

A smile appeared on Eraqus' face. "You may think that, but it's the farthest thing from the truth." He waited until Ven met his eyes before he continued. "When I suggested that possibility, they both expressed their disagreement so strenuously that I'm sorry I brought up the idea. You've earned yourself a place in their hearts, Ventus, and that's a place you've earned for life."

Getting the feeling that he was being dismissed, Ven stood up and bowed before turning to the door. He stepped outside and closed it, smiling. Breathing a sigh of relief, he began wandering the halls, enjoying the sense of serenity the castle radiated. It pumped energy and happiness into him, making him feel like he could take on all the dangers in the world and come out without a scratch on him. Even the grounds, filled with lakes and trees, made him feel at home.

"Terra, you shouldn't be out of bed so soon! You need more rest!"

"I've been resting enough, Aqua. Anymore of being cooped up in there and I'll go stir-crazy. Relax, alright?"

"No, I won't relax. You're making me worry about you all the time where you do things like this."

The conversation got louder until Terra rounded the corner, Aqua close on his heels. Despite his protests, his head was still bandaged, making his messy hair even messier. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Ven, smiling until Aqua walked right into his back, making him stumble forward. She was about to yell at him, when she saw Ven.

"Something wrong?"

Ven fidgeted. "You guys… are you sure you're not mad at me for what happened?"

"We're not mad, Ven," Aqua said, looking distressed that he was even thinking about it.

Terra nodded. "Why would we be? From what Aqua told me, you saved my life. I have to find a way to pay you back for that."

"You don't have to do that," Ven said, smiling, "It's only natural. We're friends, right?"

"Yeah, we're friends," he nodded, "The three of us, together."

Aqua snapped her fingers, making Ven jump. "Terra, I remember you saying that there was something you wanted to tell us. What was it?"

"I said that?"

"You did say something about that," Ven agreed. "I was kind of curious about it, too."

Terra scowled, his eyebrows scrunching together in thought. "You know… I don't actually remember. I feel like I should remember it, but I don't. It's like that part of my brain was carved out."

"Well, with the way you hit your head," Aqua nudged him, "You probably did bash something up in there. I'm surprised, what with your hard head and all…"

"My head is hard, but not hard enough to compete with a wall!" he complained.

"Doesn't matter, I guess. It was probably just you pulling one of your usual stunts on us."

"Probably," Terra muttered, interrupted suddenly by his stomach. He smiled. "Alright, alright, I get the picture. I'm hungry."

Aqua smirked. "Last one to the kitchen has to cook," she declared before she took off.

"I thought you want me to relax!" Terra yelled, taking off after her.

With a smile, Ven felt magical strength pouring into his legs. Dropping into a crouch, he took off, his speed carrying quickly down the halls.

Terra ended up making lunch.

* * *

**And that's all there is. This series, my Pre Birth By Sleep Universe, is finished. Now did everyone catch everything? There are multiple references/spoiler to BBS throughout all three parts, there's a trend to the villians in the story, and Vanitas makes a guest appearance. Can you find them all?**

**Thank you for all the reads and reviews, and I hope you enjoyed it!**


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